Improvement in breech-loading ordnance



H. F. MANN.

Breach-Loading rdnzmce.l

Patented Noi 26, 1861.

nv'elzlak f77/mwa l rrnn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HENRY F. MANN, OF LA FORTE, INDIANA.

IMPROVEMENT IN BREECH-LOADING ORDNANCE.

Specification forming part of Letters lPatent No. 33,787, dated November 26, 1861.

To @ZZ whom, it may ce1/werft:

Be it known that I, HENRY F. MANN, of the city and county of La Porte and State of Indiana, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Breech-Loading Ordnance; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal section of a cannon with my improvements applied to it. Fig. 2 is a Vertical transverse section of the same. Fig. 3 is a perspective of the cannon inverted.

Similar letters of reference in each of the several iigures indicate corresponding parts.

My invention consists, rst, in the combination, with an oscillating cannon, of a slotted bracket and an oscillating or turning crankshaft, the bracket being beneath the cannon and the shaft being passed loosely through the slot and hung in boxes of the stirrup; second, in the combination of a horizontally-sliding breech-piece, stirrup, screw, and oscillating cannon, the said breech-piece having its front face curved, so as to always match the rear end of the cannon, whatever may be the elevation or depression of the cannon at its front or rear end.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation with ref erence to the drawings.

A represents the barrel, it being bored from end to end, so that a through-passage exists, and its rear end being curved in the arc of a circle struck from the axis on which the barrel oscillates on its carriage when mounted.

B is a strong stirrup, passing from the trun- 'nions c a of the barrel to and around the open breech end thereof. This stirrup has boxes b b for the trunnions c a to work in, and also has an open slot cut in its inner curved portion, as shown at c, for the reception of the steel breech-piece C, said breech-piece having its front face curved in the arc of a circle, so as to match and form a ground gas-tight joint with the rear curved end of the barrel, as shown, it also having an upper and ylower flange, d, to prevent it from rising or descending from the slot while it moves longitudinally back and forth 5 and it may have the vent-hole run vertically or obliquely through it, as shown,

or may be without said hole, in which latter case the vent will be in the barrel A. Its upper front edge, s, is made sharp, so that when the breech' descends the end ot' the cartridge shall be cut off and the powder exposed to the i gniting agent employed. The top ofthe breech is hollowed out equal to one-half of the diameter of the bore of the barrel, so as to facilitateV the introduction. of the charge when the rear end of the barrel is elevated, as shown in red lines.

D is a screw passing through the rear curved end of the stirrup, and binding against the horizontally-sliding breech-piece O, as shown. By means of this screw the breech-piece,which closes completely the bore of the barrel at the rear end, is forced home, so as to insure a gastight joint when the barrel and breech-piece are in the position shown in black lines in Fig. 1. It will be observed that there is a space between the rear face of the breech-piece and the stirrup. Therefore, if the expansion of the` metal by heat causes the breech-piece to bind, by slackening the screw the difficulty and inconvenience will be immediately reine-- died. This is an important feature of my improvement, and it is of great moment, for caunon which load at the breech frequently become wholly inoperative at periods from the bindl caused by expansion under rapid firing.

E is a bracket bolted to the under side of the barrel near the rear end. Through this bracket laterally an oblong slot, e, iscut, and

through said slot a crank, F, passes, said crank being supported in boxes of the stirrup. On one end ofthe crank a-hand-wheel or crankhandle, G, is arranged, for the purpose of operating the crank-shaft F and causing it to oscillatein the slot in such manner as to raise When The operation is as follows: By turning the crank-shaft a half-revolution the breech of the barrel is raised to a position which brings the bore of the gun above the top edge of the solid portion of the breech-piece, as shown in red, Fig. 1. Vhen in this position, the projectile or cartridge is set in the hollowed portion t of the breech-piece, and in being forced into the gun is guided by the metal forming said hollowed portion. The cartridge or projectile having been forced into the gun, the crankshaft is either turned another half-revolution round in the same direction, or is brought back to its original position by a backward pull, and the barrel is thereby brought down to the position shown in black in Fig. l. As the barrel is thus brought down,the end of the cartridge, ifa cartridge is used, is cut off by the upper sharp edge of the breech-piece.

It is evident from the foregoing description that my improvements are perfectly practicable, and, while so, that they are exceedingly simple and convenient of management, and alsothat they admit of a Very expeditious loading and iiring of the cannon, and that, too,

successively.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isn 1. rlhe combination of the oscillating cannon A, slotted bracket E, and crank-shaft F, the Wh ole arranged and operating in the manner and for the purpose herein described.

2. The combination of the longitudinallysliding breech-piece C, (with or Without a sharp edge,) stirrup B, screwl) or its equivalent, and oscillating cannon A, the Whole arranged and operating substantially in the manner and for the purpose described.

H. F. MANN. Vitn esses:

Ron'r. NV. FENWICK, DE VVrr'r C. LAWRENCE. 

